The Discovery
by WriteMeow
Summary: Olivia doesn't know how she ended up in that abandoned hotel. But when she woke up, being alone and unable to remember chunks of her life were the least of her concerns. She's surrounded by carnivorous, blood-thirsty, killing machines; mutated abominations from failed genetic experiments. Olivia is in for the fight of her life.
1. Prologue

I'm pretty sure I died today. Well, the part of me that I know, that died today. I don't recognize the person staring back at me. I'm sitting in front of a shattered, staring at myself. But I don't know the person staring back at me. My name is Olivia Rose Lee. I'm 20 years old, and I live in Indianapolis, IN. Or at least what's left of it. If this recorder somehow makes it out of this God forsaken place, I sure hope that I'm out there with it. If you're hearing this, and I'm not there with you, then I'm probably dead. 

Forty-two days ago, I locked myself in one of the rooms at the abandoned Conrad building. I amassed a pile of canned food when I first took shelter here. But my pile is slowly dwindling away, along with what's left of my sanity I think. 

I don't exactly know how many normals are left out there, hiding like I am. But what I do know is that the creatures continue to roam the empty streets outside. Sometimes I even hear one or two of those things, dragging their deformed feet up and down the hallway just beyond my door. 

To be honest, I don't know what these creatures are exactly. I don't think anyone really does. 

The government once said that they are the byproduct of the chemical bomb dropped by Russia some hundred years ago. But I've seen documentaries on the Agent Orange kids of Vietnam, read books about them even. These creatures, here, now, are entirely different. 

Wait, wait, sshhh. 

Sorry about that, I think I just heard something out there. Wait, I'm saying sorry? To what? Good God I'm losing it! 

Well, before I completely lose it, let me tell you how this all started. Hopefully, whoever you are, you'll take this recording to someone, to anyone, who will listen. Please, don't let the whole world forget about Indiana.


	2. Chapter 1

On January 01, 2015, Russia celebrated the New Year with the surrender of Kazakhstan's armed forces. What started as an attempt to control Ukraine, ended in a multi-country takeover in less than a year.

According to history books, the President at the time, Barry O'Neal, wasn't entirely sure whether it was in our country's best interest to get involved. His reluctance was echoed amongst the United Nations. Several sanctions against Russia were issued, but those efforts proved futile.

Russia's President at the time, Vassili Pechkin, who later became the longest serving President of Russia, took advantage of the United Nations' underestimation of his reach. Six months after the first Russian troops set foot in Crimea, another group of Russian soldiers were deployed to Belarus, then Romania soon after.

After Kazakhstan conceded, The United States joined forces with the United Kingdom and deployed an army to Kazakhstan, in an attempt to reclaim it.

But it was too late. No one could have predicted what happened next.

Immediately after the announcement to infiltrate Kazakhstan was made known, Russia deployed a simultaneous attack on the U.S. and the U.K.

Private planes carrying chemical bombs were deployed and set to hit the West Coast, the Midwest, and the East Coast of America, and another one aimed at the Buckingham Palace.

The planes headed for the West Coast and the Buckingham Palace were shot down before it even neared land. The Midwest and the East Coast weren't so fortunate.

The one targeted for the Midwest crashed in Zionsville, IN. What was once a flourishing suburbia is now a desolate town filled with rotting facades and smells like burnt ash and decay.

The one set to hit the East Coast ended up in Manhattan, NY. What once was Manhattan no longer exists.

Not long after the crash, creatures started appearing in the streets of Manhattan. And the creatures there were rabid, vicious, fast-evolving killers. The ones we have here are tame by comparison.

The government tried to contain the epidemic. But their creatures evolved way too quickly. Before they could spread outside of the city, a nuclear missile was dropped on Times Square, erasing the entire island off the map forever.

I wonder why New York was nuked and Indiana was not? Is it because the creatures here are less sinister? It couldn't possibly be. I've seen these things skin a grown man alive. It took less than ten minutes.

It was day fifteen. I was peeking through a gap in my boarded up window when I saw movement out on the street. It was a man. Hard to tell how old or young he was from where I stood. He wore tattered clothes covered in filth, which I found odd because he appeared clean and well-kempt otherwise.

He was limping down the street, screaming for help, dazed, and confused. It was as if he didn't know where he was. Or at least that's what I told myself. Coz no one in their right mind would dare call attention to themselves in this hellhole, especially not while out in the open like he was.

Not even five minutes from the time the man showed up, at least fifteen creatures appeared behind him. They travel in packs, moving slow and fast at the same time. It's hard to explain.

Their lower bodies are so badly deformed that they have to drag each step they take. But their upper bodies, though just as messed up, don't seem to affect their upper extremities' agility whatsoever.

The biggest one of the group, I think he was the leader. He walked ahead while everyone else trailed behind. As soon as he got within an arms length distance from that man and grabbed him by the head. His outstretched arms were unusually large and looked like they were covered in scales, like a reptile. His hands were covered in lumps, eight, maybe seven fingers on each side. Hard to say for sure, as I dared not get closer, but it was definitely more than five.

The first movement I saw was the polydactyl hands on the man's head. Then the next, was the man screaming in agony as blood gushed out from a large tear in his back. Like a sharp blade just passed the point where the head meets the neck, all the way down to where the coccyx begins.

As the man screamed and wailed, contorting his body in pain, the gathering creatures watching their leader mutilate this man began their version of a hoot and holler. Which consisted of loud phlegmy grunts, hisses, and stuttered screeching sounds.

The leader paused momentarily, yet kept his eye on the prey. After a beat, it made this loud guttural sound; like a combination of a cough and a roar. It leaned its head back, and outstretched its hands. Then, it snapped its head back up, shoved its hands into the man's gaping wound, and started to rock back and forth. The man shrieked a haunting, unimaginable sound of pure terror and pain.

He writhed and screamed, then writhed and screamed some more. Then, he fell silent. They all fell silent, the creatures included. And I wished that the man was dead and that's why he was quiet. Because as the leader got off of him, it held up a long leather piece up in the air. And the creatures started grunting and screeching again, rejoicing in the bounty their leader had just showed them.

It didn't take me long to realize that it was the man's skin he held up in triumph. For behind the bloody creature was the man, all muscles and bones, twitching in a pool of his own blood.

After showing this off to his followers, the creatures' leader wrapped the man's skin around his shoulders, as if it was a coat. Then it walked away, licking the blood off its hands with each stride.

As soon as their master left, the awaiting creatures descended on the man like a pack of hungry hyenas. By the time they were done, the carcass was picked nearly clean, with its head and his right leg missing.

If history says that these creatures have nothing against what plagued Manhattan, then I'm glad that city no longer exists.


	3. Chapter 2

I remember this story my mamaw once told me, about the good old days, her good old days. She told me that when she was a kid, she used to walk home from school all by herself. On the weekends, she'd meet up with the other kids in her neighborhood, and stayed out and played all day long. And it was safe.

I wish I could remember my good old days. To be quite honest, I don't even really remember much of my childhood or most of my life before this place. I know I'm an only child. My parents died when I was young. When I think of them, I only see this foggy image of a loving man and woman. How I wish I could remember more of them than just the bits and pieces my memory offers.

#

 _April 17, 2115_

I turned the recorder on, the static a welcome sound. If I close my eyes, I can almost imagine that someone is there with me, and we're about to have a conversation. Something so mundane, like how the weather is. But that stupid thought only lasts a few seconds until reality hits me, smack dab in the face. As I lay on the floor in this dark and lonely room, I can't help but imagine what life would have been like if the war never happened. I even wonder what life is like outside this city. Is there even life outside the city?

I used to think that if I just lived long enough; someone would come and rescue me. I couldn't possibly be the only normal alive in this town. There has to be others. But then again, if there were other normals here, the cavalry would have come by now. But they never come, they never will.

#

I feel the walls in this room are starting to cave in on me. My food supply is running dangerously low, and the smell of decomposing flesh from the hallway is getting more acrid by the day, making this predicament even more unbearable than it already is. I need to get out of here.

As if someone just heard my last thought, the sound of dragging feet outside announces that a creature is waiting. Then, the dragging stops just outside my door, and I think my heart just stopped. I freeze mid-pace, holding my breath, terrified that even the slightest sound of air leaving my mouth could alert the monster of my presence.

After what seems like an eternity, I could no longer bear the suspense. Inhaling a mouthful of air, I steel myself and as quietly as I can, walk towards the door. The moment I take my final step and stand directly in front of the door, I hear sniffing. Whoever, or whatever, is out there can smell me. It sniffs, first a stuttering exhale, then a long, deep drag of my scent. It's savoring my scent. I shiver.

My mind is screaming at me, telling me to run and hide before that thing bursts in, run and hide! But my body resists. My limbs stiffen and I cannot move. Beads of sweat trickle down my forehead, my normally dry hands are drenched, and my heart is beating so fast that it's making me dizzy.

Please don't come in, please don't come in, please don't come in, I repeat in my head over and over again.

I stand in the same position for God knows how long, waiting for the inevitable, when a voice breaks the silence. A woman's voice, it's coming from outside.

"Help. Please someone help me. Is anyone out there? Please help me." The voice said.

The creature out in the hall hears the woman's cry for help the same time I do. I can hear it shuffling away from my door. This is my chance. I know what's going to happen next, and I don't want to stick around to witness it.

I grab what's left of my food and toss it into an old sack I found when I sought shelter into this building. Before I could change my mind, I aim towards the door, trembling hands reaching for the knob and I turn it without even thinking of what could possibly await me the moment I leave the security of these four walls.

After undoing all the locks and the one deadbolt, I swing the door wide open. A corpse leaning on it fell, its maggot-covered head landing right on my feet. I jump. But then an idea comes to mind. Could this decaying man be the reason why no creature has bothered entering my room?

A pull in my stomach somewhat tells me that my suspicion is valid. So I close my eyes and do something unimaginable.

I reach for this dead man's stomach, where a palm sized hole exposes parts of his internal organs. I brush the maggots out of the way and grab the organ that contains the most ooze. Bile fills my throat and I turn my head, fighting the urge to throw up.

I shut my eyes even tighter now and pull. I don't dare look at what I have in my hand. Instead, I rub the slimy, gelatinous, putrid smelling organ all over myself. I vomit before I could finish, but I don't stop. I rub every corner of my body from head to toe.

Tears trickle down my face uncontrollably. My mind reels, still unable to comprehend what I had just done.

The inhuman chants from outside momentarily break my trance and I move. My feet are moving as fast as they can, my mind slowly catching up. I know exactly what is happening outside. Any minute now, the chanting will stop, and the feasting will commence. I have to get out while I still can.

I see a door at the end of the hallway. On top of it is the remnant of an exit sign. I sprint to it, hopping over a few more rotting corpses. The sight of an enormous rodent burying out of the belly of one of the dead bodies I pass nearly made me stumble.

As I reach the door, I pause for a moment. They're still chanting outside. Good. I shove the door open and head for the stairs. I take the stairs two at a time, not even bothering to check first before I descend on each floor.

By the time I reach the bottom, I'm nearly out of breath. My heart pounds so loudly I feel like my chest could burst at any minute.

The animal shrieks from outside, mingled with a woman's shrill cry for mercy, though faint from where I stand, is still audible.

I'm pretty sure the door in front of me leads to the rear end of this building. Fear momentarily stops me in my tracks, my hand just hovering over the knob. I don't want to take my chances, but I have to. I can do this. I open the door as quietly as I can manage and cautiously take a peek. The coast is clear.

I make the sign of the cross and mutter, "If there is a God, please don't let me die today." Then, I run out into the empty alley.


	4. Chapter 3

The sun is in the final stage of setting now, and soon everything will be covered in darkness.

I'm crouching behind a rusty, old car, with two skeletal remains inside. Approximately 25 feet away from the car, I can see the creatures. The leader still straddling its kill, while the others huddle in a circle close behind, watching, cheering on.

The woman finally stops screaming. Without skipping a beat, the creatures' chanting cease as well.

I watch them, waiting for the right moment to leave my perch, holding my breath in anticipation. Then, a glint of silver catches my attention from the corner of my eye. What the heck is that?

Slowly, I reach through the broken window and into the car, to the silver object. It's partly wedged into the seat between the passenger door and the remains.

What used to be a hand, now just a pile of bones beneath a tattered shirt, lay atop the metallic object. As I push the bones and the cloth away, I see a gun. I nearly squeal out loud in delight.

I grab the gun, then scan the rest of the vehicle for any other treats. No dice. Now that I'm looking more closely though, I notice a distinct hole in each of the skulls. Judging by my recent find, I have a pretty good idea how these two died. I will do the same to myself before I allow those monsters to feast on my living body.

"Please be loaded. Please be loaded." I say as I eject the magazine out. A loud cheer; a combination of grunts and shrieks, erupt from the opposite end of the street. I snap my head up in attention. Just like before, I see the leader holding a swath of human skin up in the air, the rest of its kind rejoicing.

I look back down at the gun and I see at least five bullets. I pop the magazine back in place, throw the sack over my shoulder, and ready myself to run. The instant the leader walked away, and the rest of the creatures descend upon the woman's corpse, I book it.

I head south on Meridian Street. If my memory serves me right, there should be a highway less than two miles from where I am now.

"Don't look back. Don't look back. Don't look back." I say over and over to drown out the loud thundering of my heart and the animal shrieks that are starting to sound like they're closing in.

I pick up my speed, pumping my arms faster, stretching my legs as far as they go, lengthening my strides. I need to widen our gap. A random thought suddenly pops in my head, zombies! I don't know if a bite or a scratch from these deformed monstrosities have the same effect, but I have no intentions of finding out. With only five bullets left, I need to make sure that I only use the gun as a last resort. If I don't make enough damage by the forth bullet, I'm using the last one on myself.

An ear-popping screech fills the air. They're starting to sound closer than before. Goose flesh rise at the thought of their proximity. They're trying to box me in, I just know it. I can feel them all around me.

"Don't look back! Just keep running." I scold myself. But I couldn't help it, and I look.

Maybe three or four streets over I see something moving, moving towards me. It's hard to see what it is exactly. With only a thin veil of red on the sky, and no streetlights, I can only see their silhouettes. Dark, shapeless blurs are starting to come into focus on to my left and to my right. If one of them come at me from the front, I'm done for.

I think I'm getting closer now. A row of streetlights up ahead illuminates a clear path to the highway. I suck in another lungful of air. I'm almost there. I'm almost the—THUD! The sound I make as I crash into an invisible barrier. Then… lights out.


End file.
